Deinove

Biofuels constitute a major political issue at the national, European and international levels. The challenge is to secure energy supplies via diversification and greater energy independence and to reduce the environmental impact of energy use (particularly in terms of the carbon balance).

Many countries outside Europe have focused their energy policy on support for the biofuel sector, as exemplified by Brazil's groundbreaking activities over the last 30 years. Bioethanol currently represents represents 52%¹ of the Brazilian road transport fuel market. The worldwide production of bioethanol (the main biofuel) rose from 18 billion litres per year in 2000 to 74 billion litres per year in 2009. Together, Brazil and the USA account for over 90% of this volume. The USA multiplied its production by a factor of 5.5 between 2000 and 2008 and is now the world's largest producer².

In 2009, European bioethanol production accounted for less than 5% of the worldwide volume³. The European Union's total biofuel consumption was barely 1% of its overall petrol & diesel fuel consumption (versus 2% globally). These figures emphasize the extent of the Europe-wide efforts that will have to be made if biofuels are to contribute significantly and strategically to energy sourcing and a relative reduction in CO₂ emissions.

Given the accessibility and price of fossil fuels, an increase in biofuel consumption is still dependent on the adoption of national and EU-wide measures for support the development of biofuels and achieving market share targets. In 2003, Europe set itself a biofuel consumption target of 5.75% by 2010.

Current projections⁴ suggest that this objective will be met. Four EU member states have already reached the target: Germany (mainly focused on biodiesel), Sweden (focused on bioethanol), Austria and France. All four states have (i) implemented incentives and tax relief, (ii) combined national production with imports (from Brazil in Sweden's case and from other member states in Germany's case) and (iii) invested considerably in R&D while considering that first-generation biofuels are a springboard towards second-generation biofuels.

On January 23^rd, 2008, the European Commission issued a draft directive (Directive 2009/28) on accelerating the transition to use of renewable energies, with biofuel target of 10% by 2020. The Directive also include additional measures aimed notably at increasing the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as a result of switching from fossil fuels to biofuels to 35% and then to 50% and 60%.